Zero Turn Lawn Mowers

[dmarsh8]

What are the best (value) zero turns for 6k or less new?
1. 6k or less
2. 4-6 acres work load
3. Smooth and semi rough surfaces.. MOLES
4. For servicing I have Deere, Scag, and Dixie dealers nearest that i know of.
5. Kawasaki vs. Kohler etc.
6. Your favorite features?

Feel free to recommend used for same price range.
THANKS!!!

 

[long coat]

How big are you looking for?
Are you hauling it around or will it stay in one place until late it need to go to the dealer for service?
Mowing under trees, fence, something you can't get under?

 

[scootn103]

Check with your local scag dealer to see what the 2016 promotional mowers are this year .

 

[Snipercop]

SCAG would be my first choice...especially if you have a servicing dealer close by where you could pick up belts, filters, and other parts if needed. In my experience, Dixie's motors are usually ramped up beyond engine manufacturer's recommendations. Not a problem if they fail during warranty, but a PITA after that. Kohler makes a great engine, but the Kawasaki will run cooler and sound like a finely tuned sports car in comparison. It's a little tough to find Kawasaki parts at the box stores but parts can easily be located online. Also, know that the John Deere that is purchased at a big box store is not the same piece of equipment as one purchased at an implement store.... Tagging for interest.

 

[SMiller]

New or used? 6k won't buy anything worth having new, 4-6 acres and a new 60in. zero turn is going to require nothing short of $8,500 and even that would be a smoking deal.

Buy once/cry once...

 

[littletommy]

Wait, didn't we just have a very heated debate on mowers a few weeks ago?

 

[lovemachine]

My father in law is selling his commercial size Dixie chopper for $4k if you're interested. It's in great condition.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

I have a Scag Turf Tiger and have had it for over 12 seasons now. I really like it. I've had to replace an idler-pulley (bearing went out), the PTO switch, a couple of batteries, and a set of blades. It has a Kohler engine and it's been fine. It's got a 61" deck and I mow something like 4 acres with LOTS of moles. If you're looking for a smooth riding machine that will glide over mole hills, smooth as butter, my Scag is not the machine for you. . It's a great mowing machine and I'll probably never wear out the frame or the deck but with the weight on the back and very little weight on the front, the bumps/hills will tend to make for you think you're riding a rodeo bull sometimes.

 

[CountryBoy19]

IMHO, the ones with plastic decks are best!!!!

Lol, purple implied.

You will get lots of "expert" opinions on this. Many of them may know how to drive a mower but few are experts on what is best, best bang for the buck, or best for your particular situation. In many cases it's "the mower I have is best and here is why". Of course you think it's best, that's likely why you settled on it, and after the fact many people must justify the purchase to themselves so they will defend it to the death with no regard for ways it may not actually be best.

 

[SMiller]

IMHO, the ones with plastic decks are best!!!!

Lol, purple implied.

You will get lots of "expert" opinions on this. Many of them may know how to drive a mower but few are experts on what is best, best bang for the buck, or best for your particular situation. In many cases it's "the mower I have is best and here is why". Of course you think it's best, that's likely why you settled on it, and after the fact many people must justify the purchase to themselves so they will defend it to the death with no regard for ways it may not actually be best.

This is true, I have no dog in the fight, have demo's and used every mower there is, 18+ years commercial, they all get the job done while some do a better job.

I will say I don't have a personal favorite, it depends on the propertys I am mowing.

 

[SMiller]

I have a Scag Turf Tiger and have had it for over 12 seasons now. I really like it. I've had to replace an idler-pulley (bearing went out), the PTO switch, a couple of batteries, and a set of blades. It has a Kohler engine and it's been fine. It's got a 61" deck and I mow something like 4 acres with LOTS of moles. If you're looking for a smooth riding machine that will glide over mole hills, smooth as butter, my Scag is not the machine for you. . It's a great mowing machine and I'll probably never wear out the frame or the deck but with the weight on the back and very little weight on the front, the bumps/hills will tend to make for you think you're riding a rodeo bull sometimes.

I like your honesty, my jaw was dropping as I was reading your post as I spent 10+ years running nothing but SCAG Turf Tigers and while we had great service out of them they simply ride like total crap, the frame has no flex.

Good mowers but my back hurts thinking about all the hours I spent on them.

 

[patience0830]

I bought a year old freedom Z Scag this year from the dealer that maintained it the 1st 500 hours of it's life. $3500 + tax. 61" cut. Like it pretty well so far. 27 horse Briggs. IIRC. Wish it had the Kawasaki but it'll do for now.

Good luck in your search.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

I like your honesty, my jaw was dropping as I was reading your post as I spent 10+ years running nothing but SCAG Turf Tigers and while we had great service out of them they simply ride like total crap, the frame has no flex.

Good mowers but my back hurts thinking about all the hours I spent on them.

Don't the Hustler's have flexible front castors now? Seems like I've seen ads for some 0-turns that have suspensions now too. But I gotta believe all that extra convenience doesn't make the mowers any cheaper.

I decided to spend the extra money on the Scag when I did, because the lawn crews around here were almost all using Scags at the time. I talked to a couple of them and they swore by them -- reliability wise. I still remember the day I bought mine and I was talking to the salesman about the speeds at which they'll mow and he said ".....they'll go as fast as you can hold on." I soon learned exactly what he meant.

 

[SMiller]

Don't the Hustler's have flexible front castors now? Seems like I've seen ads for some 0-turns that have suspensions now too. But I gotta believe all that extra convenience doesn't make the mowers any cheaper.

I decided to spend the extra money on the Scag when I did, because the lawn crews around here were almost all using Scags at the time. I talked to a couple of them and they swore by them -- reliability wise. I still remember the day I bought mine and I was talking to the salesman about the speeds at which they'll mow and he said ".....they'll go as fast as you can hold on." I soon learned exactly what he meant.

Hulsters have "flex forks" they are NOT very good and are known for the bushings crapping out after a couple years.

Suspension wise your best options are ISO mount seat with suspension, piviting front axle, or full suspension (Farris).

EXmark/Toro get away with a solid frame and still ride decent as the frame has a lot of flex in it and the ISO mount full suspension seat rocks, the ride is no where near that of a Farris but its not all bad.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

Hulsters have "flex forks" they are NOT very good and are known for the bushings crapping out after a couple years.

Suspension wise your best options are ISO mount seat with suspension, piviting front axle, or full suspension (Farris).

EXmark/Toro get away with a solid frame and still ride decent as the frame has a lot of flex in it and the ISO mount full suspension seat rocks, the ride is no where near that of a Farris but its not all bad.

Ferris -- now that I think about it, I believe that is the brand where I saw the full suspension advertised. I know a guy that opted for the full suspension seat on his mower and he comment that it does make a difference.

 

[dmarsh8]

Thanks for the help and keep it coming. A somewhat smoother ride would be a plus,
as my dad will be mowing occasionally.

Sounds like used may be the way to go.

I'll leave this and maybe a couple more updates for any others researching.
I did stop by a Deere implement store today before posting to start the process and the print out they
gave me lists as follows: Z 540M ($5100) or 540R($5300) both with kawasaki and both 54" decks for the higher end residential models
Commercial entry level both Kohlers, Z 915B--48"(7250) 54"($7450).

 

[UTL]

I bought a 60" EXmark Z-line (commercial) with the 29 hp Fuel injected Kohler in 2012. Paid close to 12k, hurt like heck on the front side. Yard is about 4.5 acres. Takes 2.5-3 hours to mow it depending on the direction Im going. So far other than oil, filter and blades I have had zero problems with it. Today it has 606 hours on it.
Down side that I dont like is that I think it should cut better when the grass is tall. If its too tall the yard has to be cut twice to get the finish that I like.

We are moving to a house with a yard that is 50'x50' in a few weeks. Let me know if youre interested. lol

 

[RobbyMaQ]

I borrowed a neighbors toro to see what features I liked when we contemplated a zero turn. We chose a hustler fastrak 60" deck. I think bunnykid wound up buying one soon after. Super easy to get to everything, built like a tank. We were just under 6k new 3 years ago. Kawasaki 24 hp engine. If I had to do it again, I wouldn't hesitate to buy used.

We mow 5 acres, mostly flat, and like you, lots of 'deep moles' (no real trails, but lots of landmine mounds). Because of this, I wish we would have gotten the next option up which offers air-ride seat/suspension. Even so, we can book pretty fast and learn to slow down over the mole hills. The mower can take the abuse, but our aging bodies can't so much anymore.

We went from 7 hours cutting with 46" deck yard tractors to about 2.5 hours with the fastrak. The very first time out we started at 9am and were done by noon. My wife and I looked at one another in disbelief, asking "what the hell are we gonna do for the rest of the day?". I kick myself in the ass for not buying one sooner.

yard tractors left lots of clumps of grass and we were always raking. High lift blades in the fastrak, and we've never had to rake once. It's a bit pricier maintenance (gear oil for the hydrogear and such) but I had been trying to maintain 3 lawn tractors, and ultimately saved money by maintaining just one mower now.
Did I mention it's built like a tank? This is helpful when my wife mows

 

[Rookie]

All I know is, don't buy a Dixon. I've welded on my buddies Dixon so many times, I've lost count.

 

[db308]

We recently purchased a zero turn after quite a bit of research.
We ended up with a Toro MX6000 with the Kohler Confidant engine and 3100 hydros, 61" deck, with the suspension seat, 4yr/400hr warranty.
Toro and Exmark are owned by the same parent company.

The Snapper Pro xt125 was also high on the list.
The Snapper had the Briggs Commercial Turf, and the 3400 hydros.

We could not justify the cost of full commercial, so thought that higher-end residential made sense.

Here is a video with info on the 2800 and 3100 hydros: https://youtu.be/2dGYFzTAl70

I think that any of the 4-6K mowers would last us several years.

Lots of good info at lawnsite.com. -- http://www.lawnsite.com/forums/homeowner-assistance-forum.3/


GrassHopper was what we "wanted", but was out of our price range.
The Hustler Fastrak looked good.
Simplicity may be worth looking at. Ferris, Simplicity, and Snapper are siblings. Some of the Simplicity models have suspension.
Toro has some commercial models with suspension.

We recently moved to a place in the country and are mowing ~ 3.5 acres.
No complaints with the Toro yet. Only about 12 hours on it right now.
I'm in Lawrence Co if you are near and want to check it out.